Everyone is racist.
Primarily, the idea of being ‘colorblind’ was the revolutionary solution to “racism”. If you do not take into account one’s race, you will be perfectly able to treat them like a “normal human being”. This arrangement was prominent in the life of Huffpost.com writer Jason Halstead. Referring to his experience growing up in the early 80s, his mother found pride in his failure to see the skin color of his black best friend, or understand what that meant for him. To Halstead, this was ideal and theoretically made him a good person. When he reached the third grade, his school system attempted to integrate. He was re-zoned to a predominantly black school, and the other white parents raved over their children being put into a ‘gifted’ …show more content…
Halstead came to know that the Black school was frequently without heat.He knew this would never happen in his kids’ school, and he drew one conclusion as to why: systematic (or institutional) racism. Institutional racism is a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political institutions, as distinct from racism by individuals or informal social groups. It is reflected in disparities regarding criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, political power, and education, among other things (Wikipedia). “Why do my kids never have to wear their winter coats to class? Because they always have heat in their school. Why do they always have heat? Because I live in a wealthier school district.Why do I live in a wealthier school district? Because we pay more property taxes. Why do we pay more property taxes? Because our houses are nicer. Why are our houses nicer? Because we have better-paying jobs. Why do we have better-paying jobs? Because we got more vocational opportunities. Why did we get better vocational opportunities? Because we got better educations when we didn’t worry about the heat going out. Full circle” (Halstead 3). This story is a prime example of the vicious cycle of institutionalized racism. While no one is explicitly practicing blatant racism, the system itself is racist because it systematically …show more content…
And most people seem to know it. However, when it seems that black people noticed, it became a problem. "Those who suggest that black people are imagining racism aren 't just devaluing someone else 's experience--they 're ignoring the plain facts." Plain facts which have been stated above. So, why has the Black Lives Matter Movement caused such an uproar? Because it 's believed to be everything that it 's not. It 's believed to be anti-white, violent, and separatist. However, Black Lives Matter is a symbol for many things: awareness and opposition to systematic racism, acknowledgment of several centuries of slavery, civil rights, mass incarceration, brutality, and black people deserving the same protection and opportunities as everyone else in this country. (Assomull, Halstead, Huckabee) Sadly, the establishment of Black Lives Matter asserts the differences between the groups creating a greater rift. However, the reasons for hating the BLMM are blurry. How could you hate a faction that stands on such strong evidence? A prime example: The All Lives Matter Movement, created to combat the Black Lives Matter Movement. “It is an attempt to diminish the ongoing reality of of white supremacy in America” (Huckabee). When someone is in a state of emergency, you don’t silence their cry with more crying. You help. So why
Primarily, the idea of being ‘colorblind’ was the revolutionary solution to “racism”. If you do not take into account one’s race, you will be perfectly able to treat them like a “normal human being”. This arrangement was prominent in the life of Huffpost.com writer Jason Halstead. Referring to his experience growing up in the early 80s, his mother found pride in his failure to see the skin color of his black best friend, or understand what that meant for him. To Halstead, this was ideal and theoretically made him a good person. When he reached the third grade, his school system attempted to integrate. He was re-zoned to a predominantly black school, and the other white parents raved over their children being put into a ‘gifted’ …show more content…
Halstead came to know that the Black school was frequently without heat.He knew this would never happen in his kids’ school, and he drew one conclusion as to why: systematic (or institutional) racism. Institutional racism is a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political institutions, as distinct from racism by individuals or informal social groups. It is reflected in disparities regarding criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, political power, and education, among other things (Wikipedia). “Why do my kids never have to wear their winter coats to class? Because they always have heat in their school. Why do they always have heat? Because I live in a wealthier school district.Why do I live in a wealthier school district? Because we pay more property taxes. Why do we pay more property taxes? Because our houses are nicer. Why are our houses nicer? Because we have better-paying jobs. Why do we have better-paying jobs? Because we got more vocational opportunities. Why did we get better vocational opportunities? Because we got better educations when we didn’t worry about the heat going out. Full circle” (Halstead 3). This story is a prime example of the vicious cycle of institutionalized racism. While no one is explicitly practicing blatant racism, the system itself is racist because it systematically …show more content…
And most people seem to know it. However, when it seems that black people noticed, it became a problem. "Those who suggest that black people are imagining racism aren 't just devaluing someone else 's experience--they 're ignoring the plain facts." Plain facts which have been stated above. So, why has the Black Lives Matter Movement caused such an uproar? Because it 's believed to be everything that it 's not. It 's believed to be anti-white, violent, and separatist. However, Black Lives Matter is a symbol for many things: awareness and opposition to systematic racism, acknowledgment of several centuries of slavery, civil rights, mass incarceration, brutality, and black people deserving the same protection and opportunities as everyone else in this country. (Assomull, Halstead, Huckabee) Sadly, the establishment of Black Lives Matter asserts the differences between the groups creating a greater rift. However, the reasons for hating the BLMM are blurry. How could you hate a faction that stands on such strong evidence? A prime example: The All Lives Matter Movement, created to combat the Black Lives Matter Movement. “It is an attempt to diminish the ongoing reality of of white supremacy in America” (Huckabee). When someone is in a state of emergency, you don’t silence their cry with more crying. You help. So why